


Old Friends Never Die

by snapealina



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Friendship/Love, Gen, M/M, Remix
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-19
Updated: 2016-02-19
Packaged: 2018-05-21 16:25:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6058108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snapealina/pseuds/snapealina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a story of a little boy and his best friend, and about how a true friendship never really dies. A remix of lore's A Wolf's Heart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Old Friends Never Die

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lore](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lore/gifts).
  * Inspired by [A Wolf's Heart](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/177244) by lore. 



> In June 2010, LJ community lupin_snape arranged a Remix fest where participants had to write a remix of a previously written Snupin fic.
> 
> I got to choose one of lore 's awesome fics, and apparently she had to pick one of mine :D I chose A Wolf's Heart,a beautiful little fairytale about Severus and his stuffed toy wolf.
> 
> This is my version
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own anything you can recognize in this story and I don't make any money from this. It's just good fun.

Severus?” Eileen Snape called from the kitchen. “Can you come in here for a minute?”  
  
Severus stormed into the kitchen. The little boy was wearing hand-me-down clothes, three sizes too big, and his long, black hair was hanging like curtains on either side of his face.  
  
“We need to cut that soon, Severus.” Eileen smiled as she run her fingers through her son's hair.  
  
“No,” Severus stated and wormed out of her grip. “It's _my_ hair, and I like it like this.”  
  
“We'll see about that,” Eileen giggled and handed Severus a big, wrapped present. “Here. I saw this in the shop today, and thought that you might like it.”  
  
Severus wasn't used to getting presents when it wasn't even his birthday, and he grabbed the present and ripped it open.  
  
Inside was a stuffed animal. A wolf.  
  
“For me?” Severus was ecstatic. It wasn't every day he got a brand new toy. Most of his things had belonged to someone else. Severus was okay with that, but this was a brand new, stuffed wolf, just for him.  
  
“Thanks, Mum,” Severus smiled and hugged his mother before running upstairs to his room to play with his new toy.  
  
Severus placed the wolf on his bed and sat down on the floor next to it. The wolf needed a name – the perfect name.  
  
What would be a good name for a wolf?  
  
The following week, Severus didn't go anywhere without the wolf. He kept it with him when he was eating, he played with it, he made sure the wolf was with him when he was read to, and when he played with his other toys, the wolf was right beside him, watching. The wolf even slept in Severus' bed at night.  
  
One thing kept bugging Severus, however. He still hadn't found a name for it. It couldn't be just anything. The wolf meant too much for him just to get a random name like Mister Wolfgang or something in that area.  
  
One day Severus walked into the sitting room where his father was watching the television. The little boy sat down in the coach with his wolf.  
  
“Father,” Severus sighed. “I can't find the perfect name for my wolf.”  
  
“Wolfgang,” his father mumbled.  
  
“No, it doesn't fit him.” Severus objected. “He isn't a Wolfgang.”  
  
Tobias Snape merely looked at his boy and shrugged. “That's all I've got.”  
  
Severus slid of the sofa and went to look for his mother.  
  
“Mum, I can't find a name for him.” Severus sounded desperate.  
  
“What about Wolfgang?” his mother suggested and Severus' pounded his head on the kitchen table. If he heard that name one more time, he would scream.  
  
“No, he's not a Wolfgang,” Severus yelled.  
  
“Calm down, Severus,” Eileen said sternly. “You were the one that asked for suggestions.”  
  
“I'm sorry, Mum,” Severus mumbled. “But I need to find a name that is perfect for him. It can't be just anything.”  
  
Eileen sat down next to Severus and picked up the wolf.  
  
“Well, he looks like a nice wolf.” Eileen started. “A brave wolf. Not like monsters you hear about in stories. This wolf is important.”  
  
Severus nodded. His Mum understood.  
  
“Well, there's a story about two boys who was raised by a wolf.” Eileen started.  
  
“Really?” Severus loved when his mum told storied.  
  
“A long, long time ago there were two brothers named Remus and Romulus. Some bad people wanted to kill them, so their parents hid them with a wolf. The wolf nursed them until it was safe for them to go back.”  
  
“Is that true?” Severus' eyes were wide open. He didn't believe that two human boys could be nursed by a wolf.  
  
“They say so,” Eileen continued. “After they grew up, the two brothers wanted to found a city, but they started arguing about where this town should be, and what it would be called. After a big fight, Romulus killed his brother, Remus, and named the city after himself. This is the city we today know as Rome.”  
  
“He killed him?” Severus said appalled. “He killed his brother?”  
  
“I'm afraid so,” Eileen said.  
  
“Well I'm not naming him after the bad brother.” Severus stated. “You will not hurt anybody, will you?”  
  
Severus grabbed the wolf from his mother's arms. “I'm naming you Remus!”  
  
And in that instance Severus could have sworn that the wolf had winked at him.  
  
“Mum, did you see that?” Severus exclaimed. “He winked at me!”  
  
“That's great, dear,” Eileen said and went back to making dinner.  
  
“It's true!” Severus said. “When I said Remus, he winked! We have found his name, Mum! Thanks!”  
  
Severus grabbed Remus and ran up to his room.  
  
He placed the wolf on his bed again and looked thoroughly at him.  
  
“Come on,” Severus said impatiently. “Do that again!”  
  
But the wolf didn't move.  
  
Severus started to wonder if he had only thought the wolf had come to life down in the kitchen. Was it just his imagination?  
  
The little boy wanted so much for the wolf to come alive again. He was so happy to finally have someone to play with. But the wolf didn't move, and Severus felt disappointed.  
  
He grabbed the wolf and held him to his chest. “Please, Remus! Play with me!”  
  
Suddenly Severus felt a tongue lick his face and he jumped and dropped Remus to the floor.  
  
The wolf was sitting there, on his bedroom floor, wagging his tail and looking directly at him.  
  
“Remus!” Severus called out. “You _are_ alive!” He picked up the wolf and gave him a big hug. “I knew it was true!”  
  
Severus found a pencil and started to play with Remus on his bedroom floor.  
  
They played tug of war and fetch in the little space they had, and Severus couldn't remember ever having this much fun.  
  
When Eileen called Severus down for dinner, he brought Remus with him. He placed the wolf on the chair next to him and asked his mother if she would set an extra plate for Remus.  
  
Tobias laughed. “It's a toy, Severus. Toys don't eat dinner.”  
  
Severus looked angry. “He's not just a toy. He's alive!”  
  
“That's great dear, but eat your dinner now.” Eileen said with a tiny smile on her lips.  
  
“But he _is_ alive!” Severus stated. “He can wag his tail and run around, he even licked my face. Show them Remus.”  
  
But Remus merely sat on his chair, absolutely lifeless. His button eyes was staring blankly at the kitchen table and his tiny tongue lolling.  
  
Tobias and Eileen laughed and Severus was getting upset. Why wasn't Remus moving? And why didn't his parents believe him?  
  
He reluctantly ate his dinner and afterwards dragged Remus up to his room by his ears. He dropped the wolf to the floor and flung himself onto the bed.  
  
Severus was frustrated. He had played with Remus just an hour ago. Why wasn't he moving?  
  
Suddenly Severus felt a tongue lick his hand, and he saw that Remus was in the bed with him. Severus' face lit up. The wolf had come to life again.  
  
He grabbed the wolf and ran down to his parents. “Look Mum, he's alive again.”  
  
But when Eileen looked at the stuffed animal in Severus' arm, the wolf was completely frozen again.  
  
“Why don't you go out and play with Remus for a while, Severus,” Eileen said gently. “I think you both can do with some fresh air.”  
  
The minute Eileen turned her back on her boy, Remus winked at Severus and wagged his tail. Severus gasped.  
  
The boy took Remus outside, and walked to a playground nearby. He sat on the swing set, with the wolf at his feet.  
  
Severus was sad. Why wouldn't Remus show his parents what he really was?  
  
“Why are you doing this, Remus?” he asked the wolf, who started to run around the swing set in front of Severus.  
  
Severus couldn't stay mad long, not when the wolf so obviously wanted to play with him. He jumped of the swing and picked up a stick. He threw it a few yards away, and Remus chased it.  
  
Remus ran back to Severus and danced around his feet. Severus smiled and sat down on the ground. Remus jumped up and licked his face and Severus giggled from the tickling.  
  
They heard voices and knew someone was coming. Remus immediately froze and lay lifeless on the ground.  
  
“Let's go home, Lily,” a girl said. “There's that weird boy again.”  
  
The girl called Lily dragged her big sister over to the playground anyway. “No, I want to play on the swings. I'm not going home just yet.”  
  
Lily and her sister went over to the swing set and Lily jumped onto one of them and begged for her sister to push her.  
  
The oldest girl gave Severus a nasty look as she went to help her younger sister.  
  
Severus grabbed Remus and walked home he didn't want to stay anywhere near that stupid girl.  
  
Remus didn't come to life before he and Severus was alone in Severus' room.  
  
“I understand, Remus. It's our little secret.” Severus looked at him and smiled.  
  
\---000---000---000---  
  
The months that followed, no one would ever see Severus without his wolf by his side. Eileen and Tobias were glad to see their son so happy, but also a bit worried that he was always alone. They never saw him with anybody, but hoped that he at least ran into some other children when he went to play at the playground.  
  
But Severus didn't play with anyone else than Remus. Quite often he would sit behind the bushes and play fetch with Remus with a small twig, or he would read to him and show him pictures in the books he had found in his parents' bookshelf.  
  
From time to time, Severus and Remus would watch Lily and her sister play, and Severus noticed that Lily was a very special girl. He told Remus this, and Remus responded by wagging his tail and nudging Severus with his nose to tell him he understood.  
  
Severus and Remus liked to play in the area surrounding the playground. They liked to watch Lily play on the swings and loved to watch when her sister, Petunia, fell with her face first.  
  
Neither of them would ever tell anyone that the reason Petunia fell over so much was because Severus had somehow figured out a way to trip her whenever he wanted to. It happened just by thinking about it. Severus was amazed.  
  
But Lily and Petunia weren't the only children who used to play on the playground. Sometimes when Severus was reading a book to Remus, waiting for the girls to show up, a couple of boys would come and start to tease Severus for his big nose and lank hair.  
  
Severus wanted Remus to jump up and scare the bad boys away, but as always, Remus didn't move when other people was around.  
  
The boys loved to tease Severus, and they especially loved teasing him for having Remus with him.  
  
They loved to take Remus from Severus and throw him to each other while Severus was begging them to put him down. After a while, the big boys got tired and threw Remus away and walked home.  
  
Severus ran to pick up his only friend and carried him home, petting his fur and speaking soothing words into his little furry ear.  
  
After this, Severus didn't bring Remus to the playground anymore. Severus still went there, to look at Lily, but Remus was left at home.  
  
But when Severus came home, he told Remus everything he had seen that day, and he hugged his wolf tightly if the boys had been teasing him.  
  
Remus soon became the friend Severus only talked to, but never took with him anywhere.  
  
Sometimes when Severus came home upset from what the boys had said, Remus remained completely immovable. Severus talked to him, but got no reaction from his dear wolf.  
  
This made Severus even sadder.  
  
Severus' trips to the playground became more frequent, and eventually he and Lily became good friends. Severus started to come home, and completely forgot to tell Remus about what he had seen and experienced.  
  
One day, Severus got a letter in the mail telling him that he was going away to a boarding school. He had been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  
  
Severus was so happy he ran off to tell Lily, and as Severus had hoped, Lily had got the same letter. The two of them spent hours talking about how great their school was, and how happy they would be there.  
  
The last night before Severus went to Hogwarts, he took Remus into his bed. He hugged him hard and whispered to the wolf: “I'm sorry I can't take you with me, Remus. I'm really going to miss you.”  
  
Remus responded by licking Severus' neck and curl up next to him before they both fell asleep.  
  
\---000---000---000---  
  
Severus was really excited about going to Hogwarts, and he was especially happy to have Lily with him. Now it was just the two of them, and no stupid Muggles around to pick on him.  
  
He and Lily had spent many hours talking about what house they were going to be put it, so when the Sorting Hat put Lily in stupid Gryffindor, Severus' heart sank. This didn't turn out quite as he had hoped.  
  
However, Severus met other people to hang out with in addition to Lily, and Lily was still there, even if she was in the wrong house.  
  
When Severus went home for Christmas that year, he found Remus sitting on his bed waiting for him.  
  
Severus grabbed his wolf, and told Remus everything he could think of about his school. He told Remus about the castle, about the Slytherin dungeons, about the classes and teachers, and he showed Remus all the books he had brought home.  
  
Severus knew he wasn't allowed to use magic outside of school, but he couldn't help but try to transfigure Remus' collar into a Slytherin scarf. But the scarf kept turning back to the original collar after a few minutes, and eventually Severus got tired of doing it. He guessed Remus just wasn't supposed to have a Slytherin scarf. “It's not like a wolf could ever go to Hogwarts anyway,” he thought amusedly to himself.  
  
When Christmas break was over, Severus went back to Hogwarts and said goodbye to Remus as he left his room.  
  
\---000---000---000---  
  
Severus' life at Hogwarts wasn't easy. He and Lily drifted further apart for each year, and in Severus' fifth year they had a big argument and Lily refused to talk to Severus. Severus felt really bad about this.  
  
His other classmates began to get interested in the Dark Arts. And as the subject had always fascinated Severus, he began to hang with them more and more. Severus started to spend his Christmases at Hogwarts, and although he missed his family, he had forgotten all about a certain stuffed wolf waiting for him at home.  
  
Severus' life was now all about school, books, homework and the Dark Arts he didn't talk too loudly about. His friends weren't that interested in school, but Severus knew that he wanted to be something big and important when he grew up, so he studied hard, even if it meant some teasing from his fellow Slytherins.  
  
A cold November day in Severus' seventh, and final, year at Hogwarts, a grey barn owl came soaring through the Great Hall during breakfast.  
  
Severus didn't get post very often and was excited to see that someone had sent him a letter.  
  
He opened it, and his heart dropped.  
  
It was a letter from his mother, telling him that his father had died in an accident.  
  
Severus stormed out of the Great Hall and into one of the bathroom stalls. He sat down on the toilet and stared blankly into the wall; he wanted to cry, he wanted to scream and hit something or someone. This could not be true! His father couldn't be dead! He wasn't even old.  
  
But Severus had spent so much time in his last years hiding his feelings and to put on a brave face he just couldn't bring himself to cry.  
  
He merely sat there, staring at the wall, feeling miserable.  
  
\---000---000---000---  
  
One night, about a month later, Severus was sitting in his room all alone. His roommates were out doing Merlin-knows-what and Severus was sitting all alone on his four-poster bed, staring at a big cardboard box right in front of him.  
  
He had opened the letter first. It was from his mother. After his father's death, she had to sell their house because she couldn't afford to keep it. It had never been discussed if Severus was coming home to stay there after school, or if he was moving away. Eileen had therefore sent Severus a box full of his things from his room, in case he wasn't coming to live with his mother.  
  
Severus was still staring at the box, dreading to open it. It was getting dark, and Severus hadn't turned on any of the lights even if he'd just been sitting on his bed for what seemed like hours. The only light in the room was the light from the full moon outside his window.  
  
Finally, Severus decided to open the box and see what was in there. The last few times he had been at home during summer break, he had spent little time with his childhood things. He had mostly stayed in his room reading or practising spells of different sorts.  
  
Severus opened the box and peered into it. He took out some of his oldest books and found a framed picture beneath them. He took a look at it, and felt a big lump develop in his throat.  
  
On the picture was his entire family. His father, his mother, himself and... Remus?  
  
Remus! He had forgotten all about Remus. Severus dug frantically through the box for his old friend.  
  
In the bottom of the box, he found a worn and dirty animal. One of its eyes was hanging by a single thread, and the ragged wolf looked like he was going to fall apart in any second.  
  
Severus couldn't remember Remus ever looking this shabby, but it didn't matter to him. He had his Remus again, and the black-haired teenager pressed the stuffed toy close to his own body and buried his face in Remus moth-eaten fur. He stayed this way, just holding him for a minute.  
  
“I can't believe I thought you were alive when I was little,” Severus smiled at the wolf. “I really didn't have many real life friends, did I?”  
  
Severus looked at the wolf, half-hoping that Remus would wink at him as he had imagined him do when he was younger. But the wolf didn't move, and his eyes were certainly not blinking.  
  
He felt terrible. What did he have left? He had no real close friends; the only one that ever cared about him had grown tired of him. His only living relative was his mother, and now she was moving away from his childhood home too.  
  
Severus couldn't remember feeling this lonely in a very long time. Not since before Lily, back when the bigger boys used to tease him.  
  
The wolf had been his best, and only, friend back then. Alive or not, Severus had talked to Remus and that had really helped.  
  
Severus glanced at the wolf and felt really desperate. In the end he just couldn't take it. He squeezed Remus tightly to his chest and started to tell the wolf everything that was bothering him. He told him about the pressure at school, about his so-called friends, about Lily and about his father.  
  
All that had happened, and the fact that Severus had seen Remus again, just brought back so many memories that the tears were inevitable. There was no one else in the room, so finally Severus just let go.  
  
The tears streamed down his face, and he sobbed while talking to his Remus. The amount words decreased until Severus stopped talking altogether. He just sat in his bed, holding Remus in his arms and cried.  
  
Severus could feel the room getting darker and colder, but he just kept sobbing into the stuffed wolf in his arms.  
  
Out of nowhere he felt something stir in his arms, and for a second he thought to himself that Remus was truly alive. He snorted at the thought. “You're going mad, Severus. Get a grip.”  
  
He kept hugging the wolf, though, rocking his body back and forth. It had to be his imagination.  
But the room was getting colder and darker. The full moon was still peering through, but not as dominant as before.  
  
Something stirred again, and Severus was sure he was losing his mind. Suddenly the curtains swooshed open, and the moonlight shone brightly into his room.  
  
In his arms, the stuffed toy started to grow. It got bigger and heavier, its fur turned into flesh and soon Severus could feel a couple of strong arms slither around his waist.  
  
Severus was getting scared, but then something growled and the room suddenly got brighter and warmer. It wasn't the moonlight; it was more like someone had chased away a Dementor lurking under his bed.  
  
He looked down and saw, to his great shock, that he was holding a naked boy in his arms. The boy seemed to be around Severus' age and had brown, scruffy hair.  
  
Severus wanted to yell and push the person away, but then his eyes met a pair of chocolate brown ones and Severus couldn't help but think that there was something about those eyes...  
  
“Remus?” Severus whispered uncertainly.  
  
The boy nodded and smiled up at Severus.  
  
Severus didn't let go of the man, but kept looking into those friendly and calm eyes.  
  
Remus sat up next to Severus and looked back at the sad, young man.  
  
“It's going to be fine, Severus,” the boy whispered. “I'm here now.”  
  
Remus wormed his arms around Severus again, and Severus pulled him tight to his chest.  
  
“And I'm never letting you go again.” he whispered back.


End file.
